ATLANTA—With the expiration of their two-year retransmission agreement looming, Cox Media Group took its first swipe against DirecTV, accusing the satellite TV provider that its “anti-consumer” practices are a threat to local journalism.
The carriage agreement between DirecTV and CMG expires Feb. 2 and if it’s anything like the last kerfuffle between them two years ago, the agreement is expected to lapse, resulting in the same pressures that forced the two to reach an agreement within just days of Super Bowl LV.
“DirecTV’s anti-consumer practice of repetitive, extended station drops is typical of DrecTV—they dropped hundreds of other local stations over just the past few months,” the company said.
“CMG is proud of our commitment to investing in best-in-class local news and investigative journalism,” said Marian Pittman, EVP of CMG. “We’re dismayed that DirecTV is trying to force a deal that would harm local journalism and broadcast stations. This hurts consumers who rely on our high-quality local news, weather, and entertainment programming.”
CMG said the satellite company’s strategy could threaten the viability of local journalism “at a time when broadcast TV stations are often the last source of local news, emergency information, and consumer protection left in their communities,” adding that CMG’s stations are consistently the most popular channels on DirecTV’s lineup.
If the carriage agreement expires, more than 1 million households could lose their access to CMG stations. Cox Media Group owns, operates or provides sales and marketing services to 50 stations in 10 markets.
“Our request of DirecTV is simple,” Pittman added. “Don’t rob your customers of their access to the important news, sports and entertainment programming they need and want.”
This is the second such carriage dispute between broadcasters and DirecTV in the last month. Earlier, Tegna reached a multi-year agreement with DirecTV after its stations were pulled from the satellite provider's lineup for a month and a half.
In response, a DirecTV spokesperson said: "We are working with Cox Media Group to reach a new agreement that will align the value and quality customers receive with the price they pay. Our request to Cox Media Group is simple, don’t force your viewers who are our customers, to pay an unwarranted rate increase for ‘free’ news, sports and entertainment that is widely available on local station websites, through an over-the-air digital antenna and direct-to-consumer streaming platforms."
CMG is currently in an ongoing retransmission dispute with Dish. That unresolved dispute led to 13 CMG stations being taken off Dish in late November of 2022.
